Typhanie Monique
Coller

A native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Typhanie Monique Coller is a respected bandleader, songwriter, versatile vocalist and a highly in-demand educator, teaching at some of Chicago’s most recognized institutions, along with coaching professional performers from around the world.

A bold and engaging performer who exudes an aura of warmth, soul and charisma, Typhanie’s daring rhythmic ideas and unique improvisatory delivery place her in an elite class of vocalists. Equally at home with pop, funk, R&B and traditional jazz, she confidently defies any categorization whatsoever.

Typhanie’s innate talent and diverse range of influences made her a natural on Chicago’s acid-jazz scene, and she became heavily involved with groups on the leading edge of that funk-fueled movement, including Sumo, Jive Council and Peking Turtle. Her interest in combining spontaneous hip-hop grooves with advanced jazz improvisation continues today in her side project The Booty Movement Coalition, a collective of some of Chicago finest and most creative musicians.

In the early 2000's, Monique teamed up with Chicago-based guitarist Neal Alger, and the two established themselves as a regular duo in performances around the city and across the country. The duo have three critically acclaimed CD's under their wings: Intrinsic (2004), In This Room (2007), and Yuletide Groove (2009).

Typhanie will release her fourth disc Call It Magic (Dot Time Records) on February 3, 2017. Produced by Grammy award winning producer Jeff Levenson (Kenny Werner, Joe Lovano, The Brecker Brothers), it is Typhanie’s most ambitious project to date.

Typhanie has appeared at numerous distinguished jazz venues, including Chicago’s Jazz Showcase and City Winery, Smalls Jazz Club and The Kitano in New York, The Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis, The Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis and The Dakota in Minneapolis, and major outdoor festivals like Taste of Chicago, Isthmus Jazz Festival, SummerFest and the Chicago Jazz Festival. Internationally, she has performed in Ukraine and Russia.

Monique's teaching resume is as diverse as her performance experience and she maintains strong connections with some of Chicago’s premier institutions. She joined the DePaul University Jazz Studies faculty as a combo coach in the fall of 2016. She's been an adjunct faculty member at Columbia College since 2011, directing ensembles, teaching and developing vocal pedagogy courses, and giving private instruction in musical theater, pop, rock, jazz and soul genres. During the fall quarter of 2015, Typhanie was invited to teach pop and jazz to Northwestern University's musical theatre students, in both an applied voice and a studio class setting. For the last 11 years, she has taught at the Old Town School of Folk Music where she has created and developed numerous jazz vocal courses.

In 2016, Typhanie coached singers in a stage production of Another Word for Beauty at the Goodman Theatre. She regularly appears as a guest clinician and performer at high schools and universities in Chicago and around the U.S. Midwest, leading engaging workshops and master classes in jazz singing and contemporary vocal technique.

Indeed, her influence as an educator—which reached a high point when she served on the adjudication panel of the 2015 Thelonious Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition—continues to be felt worldwide. She worked as a vocal coach for the Voice of McDonald’s International Voice Competition in 2010, 2012, 2014, helping the famous fast-food chain’s employee contestants prepare their performances. Mexico-based pop sensation Guillermo Otero hired Typhanie to spend 10 days coaching him and singing background vocals on his hit album Yo Soy Yo (Capitol Latin/Universal Music Latin Entertainment).

Typhanie considers herself a lifelong student of the art of singing and has studied with jazz masters Mark Murphy, Sheila Jordan and Bobby McFerrin, and more recently with Jeanie LoVetri, who stands at the forefront of contemporary commercial music vocal pedagogy. Monique holds a Master of Music degree in Applied Vocal Pedagogy from Northeastern University and a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Business from Elmhurst College.

“Monique has never lacked for stage presence or vocal audacity. … [The substantive scat singing she produced, the luscious lyric lines she unfolded and the ferocious rhythmic drive attested to the increasing stylistic breadth of her art.” —Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune

“Suggesting a modern spin on Sarah Vaughan accented with iridescent traces of Lena Horne.” —JazzTimes

“Typhanie Monique shows off her considerable chops in vintage and Neo-Soul as well as jazz classics.” —Time Out Chicago

“This is an album that’s been years—heck, decades—in the making. It’s where the road has taken her, and it’s a beautiful spot to take in the view. It’s music made with great thought, even more care and, yes, a little magic. That’s the artistry of Typhanie Monique.”—Frank Alkyer, DownBeat